Bethsaida in the Bible: Meaning, Critical Events, & Location (MAP)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

Nestled near the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee, the ancient city of Bethsaida holds a unique place in both biblical narratives and archaeological mystery. Mentioned frequently in the New Testament, Bethsaida served as the backdrop for some of Jesus’ most memorable miracles.

In this article, I’ll explore the origins of Bethsaida’s name, trace the critical events that took place there according to the Gospels, and examine the fascinating archaeological hunt for its true location. Along the way, you'll discover why the Bethsaida meaning goes beyond a seemingly small village and continues to captivate scholars, pilgrims, and readers of the Bible.

Bethsaida’s Meaning

The name Bethsaida is a Greek rendering of the original Hebrew name Bēṯ Ṣayḏā (pronunciation: BAIT-sah-EE-dah). As you can see, the Hebrew is comprised of two words. The first, Bēṯ, means “house” and is a common prefix for place names in ancient Palestine (such as Bethlehem, Bethel, and Bethany). The second word, Ṣayḏā, can mean either “hunting” or “fishing.” The name can thus be translated as House of Hunting or House of Fishing. It probably received this moniker because of its location near the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where much of the associated economic activity revolved around fishing.

Later, according to 1st-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 18:28), King Herod Philip II (c. 26 BCE – 33 CE) renamed the city Julias in honor of Julia Augusta, the wife of Caesar Augustus. Josephus says that Herod Philip transformed the city from a fishing village into a proper Roman city. However, despite a few very early rabbinic references to it — they call it Ṣayḏān — the city seems to have all but disappeared by the end of the 3rd century. Although 4th-century Christian bishop and historian Eusebius lists the city briefly in his Onomasticon, he draws his information about it entirely from the Gospel of John and Josephus’ writings, indicating that he knows little to nothing about the city in his own time.

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In fact, the city went unmentioned from this point for two centuries but was then referred to in the writings of a Christian pilgrim named Theodosius in 530 CE. In a description of his journey from the city of Tiberias to the city of Paneas, Theodosius has this to say:

As Steven Notley and Mordechai Aviam write, the real importance of this tiny reference is that in the 6th century CE, the location of the city was again known.

After the Byzantine period (which ended in 1453 CE), the city was once again unmentioned in writings for centuries until modern archeologists began to search for it.

Where is bethsaida located modern day?

Scholars have long debated the location of this ancient city, with two principal sites being argued for, according to Samuel DeWitt Pfister (a third option, known as el-Mes‛adīyeh, is considered by most scholars to be unlikely since there are very few ruins there from the 1st century CE).

The first of these sites, known as et-Tell, lies on the east bank of the Jordan River about a mile-and-a-half north of the Sea of Galilee. Excavations at the site, led by Rami Arav and others from the University of Nebraska Omaha, have been ongoing since 1991. In a report of the group’s findings, Arav says that the et-Tell site contains the ruins of a Hellenistic Roman city, which would certainly fit with the context of the remade city of Julias. In addition, in 2014, a coin bearing the inscription Judaea Capta (Judea Captured) was found on the site. These coins were issued in the wake of the Roman suppression of a Jewish rebellion between 66 and 73 CE. The coin was minted by Agrippa II, Herod the Great’s grandson, in 85 CE. Archeologist Carl Savage takes this coin, along with the location of the site, as proof that the et-Tell site is the authentic Bethsaida.

However, Arav’s claim is disputed by Steven Notley and others in favor of another site, El-Araj. One reason is that while El-Araj is directly on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, et-Tell is a mile and a half from it. This is too far from water, in Notley’s opinion, for it to be the ancient fishing village mentioned in the New Testament. In addition, while there were clearly Byzantine buildings on one level at El-Araj, below them, Notley and his team found multiple Roman artifacts, including pottery and coins, that date from the 1st-century CE and earlier.

As of 2024, both sites are still being excavated and the debate goes on.

Bethsaida in the Bible

Bethsaida is never mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. However, it is referred to more than any other city except Jerusalem and Capernaum in the Gospels. For example, in Mark 6:45, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus “made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.” This is followed by Jesus walking on the water and stilling the storm in Mark 6:47-52.

Later in Mark 8:22-26, a very significant event happens in Bethsaida:

The incident is important, not only as a miracle, but as a unique version of healing in which Jesus seems to need a couple of tries to get the cure exactly right.

Meanwhile, in Matthew 11:20-22, Jesus includes Bethsaida in a curse on unrepentant cities he has visited (there is a similar passage in Luke 10:13-14):

Later, in John 1:44, we are told that Bethsaida is the city where Peter, Andrew, and Philip are from (although Mark says Peter and Andrew lived in Capernaum). We are reminded that Philip comes from Bethsaida in John 12:21, when some Greeks, in Jerusalem for the same festival as Jesus and his disciples, approach him and ask to speak with Jesus.

All in all, what we get about Bethsaida is that it is one of many important stops on Jesus’ Galilean ministry, as well as the hometown of several prominent disciples. Jesus performs several well-known miracles in and around it, and yet we are told that, overall, its inhabitants are unimpressed, refusing to be penitent and change their ways.

Conclusion

The city of Bethsaida plays a prominent role in the stories of Jesus told in the Gospels. Its meaning is House of Hunting or House of Fishing, likely references to its proximity to the Sea of Galilee and the main economic activity of its inhabitants.

According to Josephus, the city would be Romanized by King Herod Philip II, thereafter called Julias, after Julia Augustus, wife of Rome’s first emperor. However, after a briefly prosperous period as an updated Roman city, references to it in ancient writings began to disappear until they ceased entirely, except for those based on biblical references. Then in the 6th century, Christian pilgrims again seem to have discovered its location and visited it as part of their holy journeys. At the end of the Byzantine era, however, it disappeared again from the historical record.

Nevertheless, since the 20th century, archeologists have been excavating two main locations, with the intent of discovering Bethsaida’s original location. One is at et-Tel, north of the current Sea of Galilee and on the east bank of the Jordan River. While there is evidence to support this site as Bethsaida, it is fairly far from the Sea of Galilee, making it less likely to be the fishing village described in ancient writings.

The other site, El-Araj, is much closer to the Sea of Galilee and has as much evidence as et-Tell, including Roman coins and pottery, to recommend it as the original site of Bethsaida. Will this debate ever be fully resolved? Only time will tell.

Nevertheless, Bethsaida’s biblical significance is based upon Jesus’ miracles and ministry as described in the Gospels. He healed a blind man in Bethsaida, walked on water and subdued a storm while his disciples were on route to Bethsaida by boat. In the Gospel of John, Peter, Andrew, and Philip were said to have come from there. With so much religious and historical meaning riding on it, we can only hope that irrefutable proof of Bethsaida’s true location will eventually emerge.